The first trailer for Salman Khan’s action thriller Tiger Zinda Hai was released online on Tuesday. Salman Khan returns as Tiger, in a mission to save nurses being held hostage in Iraq.

The first trailer for Salman Khan’s action thriller Tiger Zinda Hai was released online on Tuesday. Salman returns as Tiger, a spy on a mission to save nurses being held hostage in Iraq by an evil dictator. Shot in exotic locations, and boasting Hollywood-standard action, the trailer highlights the attention to detail that has gone into making the film.

Salman and his co-star from the first film (2012’s Ek Tha Tiger), Katrina Kaif, return on a joint mission to evacuate the hostages. There are shades of the recent Akshay Kumar film Airlift - which featured a similar plot and was set in the Middle East - and there is also some of the globe-trotting that we see in the Jason Bourne movies. In one sequence we also see Salman skateboarding in the mountains - like Vin Diesel in the xXx movies.

All this goes to show the ambitions of the filmmakers into making a world-class film. The action and the plot (for once) are clearly spelled out in the trailer, and the stars - Salman and Katrina - have been given moments to shine.

Speaking about Salman’s gun training for the film, director Ali Abbas Zafar explained in a press statement, “When you feature a superstar like Salman Khan, who is known to pull his weight for a film’s action, you need to have weaponry that suits his stature and also fit in with the scale of Tiger Zinda Hai.”

He also spoke about the training Katrina Kaif put in to play Zoya, a spy.

“In this film, Zoya plays a super spy. It was essential to understand how such agents think and operate. So, we got Katrina to train with real agents, used their expertise and experience. For instance, as intelligence agents, you have to train a certain way to keep your mental balance in direst situations. Say you face someone who has a gun and you don’t. How do you still stay neutral and calm, and figure out the best possible way to counter and survive in such a situation. Katrina has really pushed herself for the part,” Zafar said in a press statement.

The film’s action director is Tom Struthers, who’s best known for his work on Christopher Nolan’s films Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception and Dunkirk.

Tiger Zinda Hai is scheduled for a December 22 release. After Tiger Zinda Hai, Salman and Zafar will collaborate again on Bharat, an adaptation of 2014 South Korean film Ode To My Father. To be produced by Salman’s brother-in-law, Atul Agnihotri. The film will be shot in Abu Dhabi, Spain and India and will go on floors in April next year.